The Sarnia Imperials beat the Steel City Patriots 44-15 in a Northern Football Conference semifinal Saturday.

The Sarnia Imperials are going back to the Northern Football Conference championship game.

The Imperials beat the Steel City Patriots 44-15 in a semifinal Saturday in Burlington.

“The boys played great and kept very calm, but when pushed emotionally after half the guys just reeled each other in and knew we had bigger things ahead,” head coach Jake Cherski wrote to the Observer. “I’m so proud of this bunch. We are coming together finally and feel we have a great chance next week in Toronto versus the national champs.”

The Imperials (8-2) will visit the GTA All Stars (10-0) in the final this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Brampton’s Terry Fox Stadium.

The All Stars shut out the Ottawa Sooners 29-0 in the other semifinal.

The Imperials are in the NFC final for the second time in three years. They lost to the All Stars 29-21 in the 2016 final.

They’re seeking the first championship in franchise history.

“I want to ensure to this bunch that we have the tools to compete and that we won’t be bullied around,” Cherski wrote. “It’s our time. We have worked hard to build a top competitor team and, with making the championship game two of the past three seasons, we are ready to topple the giant. …

“The city is waiting for a champion football team and nothing would be better to represent Sarnia in the national championship game.”

Imperials quarterback Julian Shadd-Gentry completed seven passes for 107 yards. He ran for one touchdown and threw another to Josh Wright.

RJ Trice returned an interception for a 58-yard touchdown. Justin Nicolaisen also scored on an interception.

The Imperials had five interceptions, including two by Quade Krosch. Corey Howell had the other.

Jay Kelly also scored a touchdown on a return.

“Kelly had an amazing game and was all over the field,” Cherski wrote. “… (He) played his head off today. Clearly our player of the game and I guess if he goes, we all go.”

Mitch Haunnesh kicked a 27-yard field goal and was 5-of-6 on extra points. Bob Artell had 44 rushing yards and Austin Colter returned an onside kick 42 yards.

Dan White, Cody Burt and Dalton Gilmore each made a team-high four tackles.

The All Stars beat the Imperials 38-9 in the season opener May 26 at Norm Perry Park. The Imperials also lost their second game, but they’ve won eight in a row since then.

“As long as we take things serious at practice next week, we should be able to give the All Stars a good game,” Cherski wrote. “Our boys have to be disciplined and come to work this week and if they can listen, pay attention and commit to the process everything is going to be OK. All we want to do is give ourselves a chance and you never know what’s going to happen.”

The fan bus for the championship game will leave Sarnia at 3:30 p.m. The $60 fee includes a game ticket and a meal (hotdog or hamburger, chips, and pop).

At least 50 fans are needed for the bus. Payment is required before Thursday. Contact Cherski at 519-312-1364.

Bill Costello’s father, the late Gary (Satch) Costello, had him well prepared for a life on the sideline with the Sudbury Spartans.

“My dad told me, ‘You’re always the first one to arrive and you’re always the last one to leave,’ ” Costello recalled. “And it’s so true.”

That goes for not only Costello, the general manager and head trainer for the local Northern Football Conference outfit, but also the likes of equipment manager Mike Lynott, trainer Al Kuzenko, water boy Alex Dodds, as well as youngsters who may rotate in and out depending on availability, but whose contributions remain vital to making game day at James Jerome Sports Complex a success.

All volunteers, they’ll be working hard as ever when the Spartans kick off the NFC post-season Saturday against the Ottawa Sooners.

Game time is 7:30 p.m.

“The staff I have are actually amazing, that they are able to do what they do,” Costello said. “It’s a lot of little tasks to be able to take care of the big event.

“All of them make sure that these guys look and feel like they’re prepared for a game. There’s a lot of time that goes in before and after the game, from taping ankles to washing uniforms a couple of days after the game.”

As much as he trusts his staff, and full as his plate may be, Costello has yet to step back and embrace a more strictly managerial role. That may happen eventually, but for now, he enjoys being immersed in the game-day experience.

“It’s kind of a tough one,” he said. “I absolutely love the game days. It’s being able to find the right type of people to surround myself with, but I would love to be able to do a little bit less. Junior (Labrosse, head coach), Wally (Wilson, special teams/offensive line coach) and Gord (Goddard, president) are actually always pushing me to do a bit less every year and you know what, sometimes the grandiose plan is to get a fully-fledged training staff and everything, but i like to lead from the front, lead by example, and I’m not willing to get someone else to do something unless I’m willing to do it myself. That’s not to say I wouldn’t give up a lot of this stuff, but hopefully each year, I can manage a little bit more and do a little bit less, not have to tape at the games, but kind of sit back and schmooze a little bit with the fans, see all my alumni that have actually come out to the games. The future’s a little bit brighter for me, with all of the stuff that has happened the last few years, and I think it will be good for the next few years.”

Among the most significant changes has been the purchase of the Spartans by local businessman Dario Zulich in spring of 2017 and their incorporation into Sudbury Wolves Sports and Entertainment, alongside the Sudbury Wolves hockey club and Sudbury Five basketball team.

Both of the sister squads will be well-represented at Saturday’s playoff game, as sponsors for the event.

Activities are to include fan giveaways, an appearance by the Sudbury Five Dance Squad and a performance by local musician Dan MacDonald.

The Dellelce Family Hospitality Tent will be open before and during the game.

“All year, it has been building to this,” Costello said. “We had our home opener and the beer tent came along, we had some SPAD (Laurentian University sports administration) students who were able to come and help out, otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to do some of this stuff. As a solo organization, we weren’t able to do that in the past, and now, we’re actually part of a bigger organization, there’s a lot more back-room support for these types of things.

“They will feed one another. Hopefully, my players and my staff can actually go down to a Five game and maybe volunteer to do some security or some public relations stuff. There’s a little bit of give and take with that, but overall, the organization has been absolutely amazing and patient, because football is very different from hockey and basketball is very different from football. We are like a family, because a lot of the organization involves friends and families, but now the public is getting on board and seeing that it actually is quality football, and having that promotional end of it, to actually market and promote it, from the Sudbury Wolves, I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Though scheduled for a playoff game on Saturday, the Sault Steelers season is over.

Due to a lack of players, the Northern Football Conference club has elected to forfeit its postseason clash against the GTA All Stars.

The teams were to meet in an NFC quarter-final at Chinguacousy Park in Brampton.

But the Steelers, who didn’t have enough players to play the second half of last Saturday’s 35-0 loss in Sarnia, were certain even fewer would be available for a clash with the 8-0 All Stars.

“I’m sad about it. It wasn’t easy for us to forfeit,” said Steelers head coach Brandon Lewis. “It was an emotional decision to make.”

The Steelers, who finished with a 3-5 record, began their regular season finale against Sarnia with only 17 players.

However, Lewis said that during the first half they lost Jon Bujold (knee), Cam Basham (knee), Andrew Jones (back) and Rico Pucci (knee).

The Steelers concern for the well-being of their remaining 13 players – the majority of whom would have been forced to go both ways — led game officials to halt the contest before the third quarter was to begin.

Asked how many players the Steelers expected to dress if they were to face GTA, Lewis said he “couldn’t put a number on it. Easily less than the 17 we went to Sarnia with.”

The 42-year-old coach, a former star defensive lineman and a sure bet, future, NFC Hall-of-Famer, spoke of how disappointed he was.

“But our hand was forced,” Lewis added. “Forfeiting was not easy. But first and foremost, this is about the safety of our players. These guys have battled short-handed for us all season.”

Steelers quarterback Alanzo Clarke said the remaining Soo players are also disappointed.

“But it’s probably the best call,” he added. “We have a lot of guys injured and we didn’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt.”

This season marked the return of the Steelers to the NFC. Due to a lack of player interest, the team asked the league for a one-year leave of absence and didn’t field an entry in 2017.

Despite the way things are ending, Lewis called 2018 a positive.

“We played some tough games that could have gone either way,” he said. “And we managed to win three games.”

Lewis said he plans to return as the team’s head coach in 2019.

Asked if he would also consider a return to the playing field, Lewis said: “That’s not in the cards right now. I just want to focus on recruiting and building the program.”

A 27-yard touchdown run by Josh Gauthier with 5:14 to go in the fourth quarter lifted the Sault Steelers to a 23-10 Northern Football Conference win over the Sudbury Spartans Saturday night at Rocky DiPietro field.

The major came with the Steelers trailing 10-8 at the time in a game that saw the home side fall behind 10-0 in the opening half.

NFC Point Standings

About The NFC

The NFC is a semi-pro level football league based in Ontario, Canada. The NFC provides an opportunity for athletes to continue their football careers beyond the varsity level.
The NFC is ideal for players electing not to go to university or having graduated from university wishing to continue the pursuit of football excellence. Many pro players have used the NFC as a valuable place to develop their skills.